New research shows children who go to bed early have a richer gut microbiome and better sleep efficiency, paving the way for potential interventions that leverage the gut-brain connection to improve sleep quality and overall health.

In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers investigated the gut microbial composition and metabolite expression of 88 healthy children to evaluate the role of sleep timings and routines on gut health and associated outcomes.

Multi-omics sequencing of participants’ fecal samples revealed that the gut microbial composition (beta diversity; P = 0.045) varied significantly between early (before 9:30 pm) and late sleepers. Specific species such as Akkermansia muciniphila (P = 0.00024), Alistipes finegoldii (P = 0.028), and Holdemania filiformis (P = 0.0077) were notably more abundant in early sleepers. Alpha diversity indices (Simpson’s index, P = 0.0011; Shannon’s index, P = 0.0013) validated these findings and demonstrated a significantly higher diversity and abundance of beneficial gut microbiota in early sleepers compared to their late-sleeping counterparts.

Together, these findings support and highlight the importance of the ‘early to bed…’ refrain in children (and potentially adolescents), emphasizing the beneficial impacts of good and regular sleep habits. It may further form the basis for future pharmacological interventions against sleep disorders by leveraging the hitherto untapped gut-brain axis.

The study design ensured that 88 participants were divided equally between early sleep (bedtime before 9:30 p.m.) and late sleep (bedtime after 9:30 p.m.) cohorts, each with equal male and female representation. Descriptive analysis of covariates (age, sex, daily behaviors, geographical distribution, physical activity) revealed no statistical baseline differences between early—and late-sleep cohorts.

Late sleepers displayed lower microbial diversity, particularly in species linked to immune function, suggesting that irregular sleep may weaken immune responses.

Notably, early sleep participants significantly outperformed their late sleep counterparts across almost all measured sleep quality metrics (P-values ranging from 1e-06 to 0.015). In contrast, sleep duration, number of dreams, and nap duration were statistically indistinguishable between cohorts.

Substantial inter-cohort differences were noted in the microbiome species composition and relative abundance, with early sleepers demonstrating a significantly higher abundance of Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, and Firmicutes phyla (P = 0.045). Genus-level alpha and beta diversity were also substantially higher in early sleepers.

[https://www.news-medical.net/news/20241008/Early-bedtime-boosts-childrens-gut-health-by-increasing-beneficial-bacteria.aspx](https://www.news-medical.net/news/20241008/Early-bedtime-boosts-childrens-gut-health-by-increasing-beneficial-bacteria.aspx)